If you've ever had the misfortune of losing power right in the middle of a big project you know the headache that can come with that. Over on Instructables, ooda55 guides you through the process of building your own battery backup system so you never lose a minute of work.

An external battery pack for a laptop is usually an expensive purchase, but The Verge Forums member E. Rodgers shows off how to make one for a Macbook that can easily be repurposed to any laptop by using around $60 worth of materials and some elbow grease.

There's no need to pay the electric company to charge your small electronics when you've got a portable solar charger on hand. Learn how to turn some cheap solar panels and a Tupperware container into a solar charging station.